Niagara Falls to Cleveland

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Monday, August 22, 2011

We left Niagara Falls, Canada, through the very commercial and lower-end part of the city, on the way to the Peace Bridge, Customs and the good old USA. Niagara Falls, NY was not quite as nice as the Canada side and the drive along the US coast of Lake Erie was not as pleasant or scenic. We stopped at Tom's Family Restaurant and had another hearty breakfast on top of the Starbucks lattes we had started with at the hotel. After breakfast we meandered along the coast until we got to the Dunkirk Historical Lighthouse, as Doug told us it was our educational time for the day, or was it the trip. We continued along the coast until we reached Erie, PA when the route we had chosen ended up going through the less nice parts of Erie. So we got back on the freeway and zipped along to Cleveland. Finding the city was easy, but getting to our hotel was not. They had blocked off large sections of downtown Cleveland to film The Avengers, with Samuel L. Jackson and other popular film personalities. Our hotel was almost in the middle of the movie set, so Daryl called the hotel and had them walk us into the right block. The police let us back up the cars into the hotel loading zone so we could unload and then Rob and Doug had to park them in a parking structure on the next corner, which was the Holiday Inn's parking for guests. This HIE is in an 1885 building that was a bank. The lobby and elevators are in the old bank lobby and the rooms are huge in every way – 12 ft ceilings and the room is 30 x30. It sure didn't feel like our usual HIE., but it was ideally situated. We were within walking distance of the movie set as well, so we saw the fake German tanks and the fake burned buildings. We could walk to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, which we did, and to the Fourth Street eating area where there a great selection of restaurants and the street is blocked off so they can have outdoor eating areas. After checking in , we decided to do the rock and Roll Hall of Fame. It was later in the afternoon by then and the Museum closes at 5:50 so we had less than two hours. Rob and Daryl basically stayed in the lower level exhibits, but Doug and Marilyn powered through the upper levels as well. The Museum is right next to the Cleveland Browns Stadium and the Science Center.

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